It's Green Thumb Sunday, hosted by Tricia at As the Garden Grows. If you'd like to participate, just click on the link to find out how.

I'm going to cheat today. I've always been a bit of a rebel, but do try to follow the rules. However, I'm running out of plants of my own to show, so am going to post a photo that I took on vacation.

This lovely showering shrub is located in Sea World. I have a photo of one almost identical in Animal Kingdom. These flowers were beautiful. If anyone knows what they are called, please let me know. I should know, but can't think of it.

Take care and thanks for joining me for Green Thumb Sunday.

Some of you have been asking about Meeko. He did great while we were gone. He ate very little for the first four days and then only nibbled at his food. He drinks when we're away. The lady at the vets told us that he had a lot of fun in the dog run with the other dogs. He does enjoy his canine friends and I'm sure that he misses them now as much as he missed us when we first left. Being a pack animal, he likes to be with his pack, which is us. He's been very happy since we brought him home. Yesterday he followed us everywhere and was a little peeved when we went to drop off the boys' souvenirs and the things that we didn't unpack on Friday night. Today we went to the library and he was fine. He's back to his normal routine. However, I did catch him lying on the couch today.

He's looking a little forlorn here because he knows he's been caught. I didn't say too much to him - just told him to get down and he did. Like us, he wants to enjoy the comforts of home. I always feel guilty about leaving him when we go away, but traveling with a dog his size is next to impossible.

~Blessings, Mary~

Florida Trip Day 2 - Newport, Kentucky

Day two of our trip we got up and headed across the street from the Travel Lodge for breakfast on the Levee. Newport is just across the river from Cinncinnati, OH. It is a pretty place. Below you will see Jordan heading to the stairs that take you onto the Levee. We had breakfast at Mrs. Fields. The boys loved it and when we finished eating, we headed for the Aquarium that had just opened.

Above is a tiger shark. The boys both enjoy sea creatures and were amazed to see all of them together in one spot. Neither of them had ever been to an aquarium before. They have been to Marineland in Niagara Falls, but this was a new experience.

All of the creatures were so very interesting. Above is a sea horse. It's not the greatest photo in the world, but we were taking all of these through glass. Many have reflections, but some do not.

There were hundreds of species of fish and even the natural habitat the Aquarium had created was interesting.


Jordan was amazed at the size of this turtle shell. Brandon has studied turtles and told Jordan that they can get much bigger than this. It was interesting to listen to their conversation about all they were seeing. This big guy was interesting to watch. The boys spent quite a bit of time at the turtle exhibit. They both love turtles.

More turtles. These are a different species. These ones were vividly striped dark green and a kind of greenish yellow. They were the most active turtles in the tanks.

We all enjoyed watching the sharks. This is a very small one. When Dwight and I were there a few years ago, they had a giant Great White. It wasn't there this time. Either it died or has been moved to another aquarium. These creatures are very interesting but I wouldn't want to meet one that wasn't behind glass.

Here are the boys watching the jelly fish. What fascinating creatures they are, but it's very hard to get a photo of them. If you look closely, you can see them in the tank.

A large shark and some small fish. We did see a shark eat some fish in one of the tanks. There are a vast range of fish species in all tanks at the Aquarium.

It's hard to believe that Brandon is going on 6 feet tall and he is only 12. Both boys enjoyed having their picture taken so close to this shark.

At ten, Jordan is quite a bit shorter, but has grown quite a bit in the past year.

The Aviary was interesting with a wide range of bird species from all over the world. They were beautiful. This one was so brightly colored, but it was hard to get photos of them. They move around so quickly. I did manage this one but the quality isn't good.

Penguin Encounters was the last stop before the gift shop and exit. The boys both like penguins. Brandon did a project on Emperor Penguins last year and was thrilled to see them up close. Again, it was hard getting a good photo because of the glass, but this exhibit was awesome. We even saw penguins sliding into the water for a bit of swimming fun.

We had a great time at the Newport Aquarium. We entered just after opening at 10am and left at 1pm. We then headed for a very unique lunch experience for the boys. I'll tell you about it tomorrow and post a couple of photos.

Thanks for stopping by and joining me on our first day of vacation. Maybe later today I will post for Green Thumb Sunday. ~Blessings, Mary~

Awards

While I was gone, I was presented with some awards. I will post them here to thank all of you and then place them on my Awards and Gifts pages within the next few days.

Thank you, Sharon!

Thanks you, Grams and Melanie!

Thank You, Denise, Grams, Deena and BJ!

If you are on my blogroll, you are welcome to take a copy of these awards.

These awards are all lovely and I'm very honored to receive them. Thanks to all my dear friends for thinking of me while we were on vacation and also for your prayers. ~Blessings, Mary~

Florida Trip Day One

On December 27th, we got up early in the morning and loaded the van. All of our bags were packed and ready to go along with snacks and the Florida bag of goodies that I'd packed to keep the boys busy. We took Meeko to the Vets where he would be staying for the next 15 days. As soon as he saw the suitcases going into the van and his pillow and toys going into my car, he knew that he would be having a lengthy stay. He did cooperate and get into the car easily but when Dwight dropped him off, he was stubborn and dug in his heels when the woman went to take him. Dogs are smart.

After Dwight dropped Meeko, we got into the van and picked up the boys. It was snowing a little and we were hoping that the storm would hold off until we had crossed the border at Detroit. It did, but here is what we saw in Chatham, Ontario. Jordan thought it was so pretty and asked me to take photos. Here is a peek at what we saw:

Jordan was right. It was very pretty and I'm glad that he asked me to take the photos. The trees were coated with ice, but the road was perfectly clear.

We reached Windsor at 12pm and stopped at the bank to get the boys' Canadian money that their Dad had given them that morning exchanged for US currency. Then we headed to the Ambassador Bridge. It was time for lunch but the boys wanted to wait to eat until they were in the US. That turned out to be a mistake as the wait at the border was 2.5 hours. We didn't think we'd ever get across and the boys were bored waiting.

We crossed into the US without passports, but the Canadian Custom Official was very thorough. She wanted to see a note from the boys' mother, which fortunately we had. We showed our ID and was across in about 10 minutes after she first started questioning us. That is most thorough they have ever been, but it's good to know that they won't just let anyone cross with kids that aren't theirs. We had all the documentation, but didn't need Passports.

We headed down I75, headed for the Newport Aquarium in Newport, Kentucky. Dwight and I had been there before and had always wanted to take the boys. We got to Newport about 8pm, booked into the Travel Lodge across from the Aquarium so we would be close at hand the next day.

Tomorrow I will post some photos of the Aquarium for your enjoyment.

In other news I've spent the day unpacking. We gave the boys only the bare essentials last night such as suitcases and then took them their souvenirs this afternoon. They were having fun with Mom and Dad.

Dwight went for a few groceries while I sorted through everything and put it away. I took a couple of breaks to visit some of my blogging friends. If I haven't got to you yet, please be patient. I have lots of catching up to do and am anxious to visit each and every one of you.

I talked to Mom last night and caught up on all the family news. My niece phoned this morning to welcome me home and Griffyn is doing great. He took his first tumble off the bed this morning. Somehow he got over the pillow that was protecting him. He is only 6 months old, but getting around quite a bit. It was so nice to hear his coos and giggles while Melissa was talking to me.

Melissa is expecting another baby. We're not sure of the date but she figures sometime in July. This is mixed news. She wasn't ever to have any children. Now she is pregnant with another baby. Griffyn won't be one until June 28th, so this will be hard on her. She will have two children about a year apart. Not easy and this is another high risk pregnancy. Please pray for Melissa and the baby.

My niece Sherry is expecting a baby in February. She is working on a factory assembly line and emailed me to let me know that she is feeling great and working a lot of overtime because she will soon be going on maternity leave. She is 40 years old and this is her first. She had given up on having children, so it was a wonderful surprise. Please pray for a safe delivery for her and the baby. We don't know what sex it is, as she wanted it to be a surprise. We are hoping for a girl because our family has more boys. We really don't care as long as mother and baby are safe and healthy.

I hope you are all well and that each of you had a great New Year. We enjoyed freezing temperatures in Florida. LOL It was 48 degrees and we stayed in as the crowds were atrocious.

I look forward to visiting with everyone and catching up on all the news. ~Blessings, Mary~